Kerstin Casparij
Dutch footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kerstin Yasmijn Casparij (Dutch: [ˈkɛrstɪ ɲɑsˈmɛiŋ kɑspaːˈrɛi]; born 19 August 2000) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a right-back or central midfielder for Women's Super League club Manchester City and the Netherlands national team.[2]
|
Casparij with Manchester City in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kerstin Yasmijn Casparij[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 19 August 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands | ||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Positions | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Manchester City | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Heerenveen | 35 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | VV Alkmaar | 22 | (2) |
| 2018–2020 | Heerenveen | 34 | (6) |
| 2020–2022 | Twente | 42 | (4) |
| 2022– | Manchester City | 77 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2015 | Netherlands U15 | 4 | (0) |
| 2016 | Netherlands U16 | 9 | (2) |
| 2016–2017 | Netherlands U17 | 8 | (3) |
| 2017–2019 | Netherlands U19 | 28 | (9) |
| 2019–2021 | Netherlands U23 | 6 | (0) |
| 2021– | Netherlands | 53 | (0) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 08:49, 4 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:30, 9 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
First spell at Heerenveen
Casparij made her debut for Heerenveen in the Eredivisie at the age of 15.[3] She made her league debut against Twente on 6 November 2015.[4] Casparij scored her first league goal against Achilles '29 on 23 December 2016, scoring in the 65th minute.[5]
VV Alkmaar
After two years, she moved to VV Alkmaar.[6] She made her league debut against Heerenveen on 1 September 2017.[7] She scored her first league goal against Excelsior on 10 November 2017, scoring in the 45th minute.[8]
Heerenveen (second stint)
After a year at VV Alkmaar, she returned to Heerenveen.[9] During her second spell, she made her league debut against Achilles '29 on 14 September 2018.[10] She scored a hat trick, which was also her first goals for the club during her second spell, against Achilles '29 on 27 November 2018.[11]
Twente
She joined Twente in 2020.[12] Casparij made her league debut against Ajax on 6 September 2020.[13] She scored her first league goal against PEC Zwolle on 11 September 2020, scoring in the 82nd minute.[14]
Manchester City
On 26 July 2022, Casparij joined Women's Super League club Manchester City on a three-year deal.[15] She was signed to replace Lucy Bronze.[16] Casparij made her league debut against Chelsea on 25 September 2022.[17]
Along with Rico Lewis, Casparij was named as the club's PFA Community Champions on 24 May 2024.[18]
Casparij scored and was named player of the match in a 3–0 derby win over Manchester United in the WSL on 28 March 2026.[19]
International career
Casparij has played for Netherlands youth teams in several age groups. She made her senior team debut on 22 October 2021 as an 83rd-minute substitute for Daniëlle van de Donk in a 8–0 win against Cyprus.[20]
On 31 May 2023, she was named as part of the Netherlands provisional squad for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.[21]
Personal life
Casparij is queer[22] and a lesbian.[23] As of 2025,[update] she is dating Ruth Brown, a woman who she met on Tinder and does not work in football.[24][25][23][26]
Casparij is supportive of trans people, dedicating her goal in the 20 April 2025 match against Everton to "all my trans siblings, who’ve had an incredibly tough & heartbreaking week", in the wake of the UK Supreme Court judgement in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers.[23][27][28] In September 2025, she became a patron of the LGBT Foundation[25][29] and will help with fundraising for safe spaces for queer women in the community.[25]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 31 May 2026[2]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Heerenveen | 2015–16 | Eredivisie | 13 | 0 | ? | ? | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 22 | 1 | ? | ? | — | — | 22 | 1 | |||
| Total | 35 | 1 | ? | ? | — | — | 35 | 1 | ||||
| VV Alkmaar | 2017–18 | Eredivisie | 22 | 2 | ? | 0 | — | — | 22 | 2 | ||
| Heerenveen | 2018–19 | Eredivisie | 23 | 5 | ? | 0 | — | — | 23 | 5 | ||
| 2019–20 | Eredivisie | 11 | 1 | ? | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 1 | ||
| Total | 34 | 6 | ? | ? | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 6 | |||
| FC Twente | 2020–21 | Eredivisie | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 2 | — | 26 | 5 | |
| 2021–22 | Eredivisie | 22 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 6 | ||
| Manchester City | 2022–23 | Women's Super League | 17 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 0 |
| 2023–24 | Women's Super League | 18 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||
| 2024–25 | Women's Super League | 21 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 36 | 3 | |
| 2025–26 | Women's Super League | 21 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 29 | 3 | ||
| Total | 77 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 116 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 210 | 18 | 16 | 0 | 26 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 265 | 21 | ||
- Includes KNVB Women's Cup, Women's FA Cup
- Includes Eredivisie Cup, FA WSL Cup
International
- As of match played 9 June 2026[2]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | 2021 | 3 | 0 |
| 2022 | 15 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 12 | 0 | |
| 2026 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 53 | 0 | |